Coffee shops (our other office)

 

my work, my team and my cup of jo

Our office is in a building that has a lot of construction going on during the work day. It's loud and sometimes distracting, and when we cannot handle it anymore (or have no internet connection), we gather our belongings and head down the street to a coffee shop.

of course I added sugar

To get to this coffee shop, we have to cross a major road. Kurdish people normally time it right and just walk out across four lanes of traffic and continue on their way. Sounds easy, but when you're standing on the side of the road watching these cars pass, it's another story. Sometimes, drivers make their own lanes on the road. Classic. City driving is the same here too, I guess. It's hard to tell who will slow down and whether or not someone is going to try to jet around a slower vehicle. This is probably the main reason it scares me to cross these major roads sometimes.

That, and the fact that the people I'm walking with do not always tell me when they're about to cross the road. When I realize they're crossing, I do somewhat of a stutter step, which can totally throw the timing off. And it's scary.

Obviously, crossing major roads is not something I'm used to, so this may take some time for me to get a handle on it. I really hope to master this sooner rather than later, though, because it seems like we will be going to the coffee shop every week.

This is okay with me because I like this cafe. Yep, believe it or not, I've been ordering coffee because I've become such a fan of this Italian coffee shop. It has a relaxing atmosphere and outlets for American electronic devices. Sounds like a great place to work to me! I've been very productive there, and I've been introduced to cappuccinos. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but by the time we head over, I normally have one around the 3 p.m. time block, and it ends up being the right extra boost of energy. When you first arrive, they give you a menu when you sit down. On my first day, I just pointed to one of the pictures in the menu. Next to the picture, it said "Italiano Cappucino." This is my go-to now. With a bit of sugar, I'm able to drink it. However, I think I've finally won my battle with jet lag, so I'll totally be looking for something else on the menu.

Some of the team at work

The Cafe's cool bookshelf

This is just a part of the PLC team. They're great.